Spalted Maple Leaf Ornaments

Maple trees can live to be several hundred years old. That’s why when his old maple passed on and the time had come to cut down the tree in his front yard, our friend who is an artist and woodworker, decided to give the tree another purpose by creating these maple leaf ornaments.

After harvesting, the old tree was kept wet for several months in old leaves until the wood naturally stained. This process is known as spalting and brings out the striking grain highly valued by woodworkers. He then cut it into boards that dried over time and then planed them to reveal the intense patterns in the woods. Next, he cut them into leaves and used a tarnish resistant copper wire to create the ornaments.